Who's Who in China (3rd edition)/Tung K'ang

Mr. Tung K'ang

董康字綬金

Mr. Tung Kang was born at Wu-chin Hsien, Kiangsu province, in 1869. He was brought up in a well known literary family of southern China. He became a Metropolitan Graduate in 1889 when he was barely twenty years of age. He began his official career as Junior Secretary of the Board of Punishment. The other positions he held under the Ching Regime were judge of the criminal department of the Supreme Court and general secretary to the Law Codification Bureau. He distinguished himself in judicial administration. He directed the drafting of the criminal law, civil law, commercial law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, etc. which were provisional and effective for the time being. In the first year of the Republic, Minister Tung traveiled extensively in Japan. He returned to China in the winter of 1913. In February 1914 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court which position he held until July 1918 when he was appointed president of the Law Codification Bureau. He was Chief Justice of the Prize Court from 1917 till the time when he resigned from the Supreme Court. In November 1918 he was awarded the First Class Wenfu. In July 1920 Mr. Tung was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for the second time. But a month later he was appointed Acting Minister of Justice. From May to December, 1921, he was Minister of Justic. In December 1921 he returned to the Supreme Court again holding concurrently the post of President of the High Judicial Service Punishment Commission. In February 1922 he received another post as President of the Commission for the Consolidation of Domestic and Foreign Debts. In May 1922 he was appointed Acting Minister of Finance, holding concurrently the post of Director General of the Salt Administration, of the Currency Bureau and of the Wine and Tobacco Administration. In August 1922 Mr. Tung was relieved from all the financial posts. Shortly afterwards he left China on a touring trip to America and Europe to investigate commercial and industrial conditions therein. During his absence, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in September 1922, with Yu Chi-chang to act for him; President of the High Judicial Service Court, in October 1922 with Hu l-Ku to act for him. In February 1923 he was officially relieved of these two appointment and was at the same time the Vice-President of the Commission for the Discussion of Jurisprudence. In October 1923 he was given the Second Order of Merit. In 1924 he returned to China.